The Záchranka app and Water Rescue Service joined forces.

The Záchranka app continues to expand the team of professionals with whom it works to help quickly. While in the winter the application of the Mountain Service of the CR was successfully integrated into the application, the summer is focused on the Water Rescue Service. Both organizations use the GINA System, making it much easier to link with the Záchranka app.

10. 8. 20189 min.

The Záchranka app and Water Rescue Service joined forces

The Záchranka app continues to expand the team of professionals with whom it cooperates to deliver help quickly. While in the winter the application of the Mountain Service of the Czech Republic was successfully integrated into the application, the summer is focused on the Water Rescue Service of Czech Republic.

"The collaboration will work on the same principle as with Mountain Service - the application itself recognizes that the call for help is located on the water surface or within 300 meters of the water surface, perhaps even in the camp - and in addition to sending an emergency message and calling the relevant regional Emergency Medical Service, the notification will be also send to the Water Rescue Services station, in the form of an automatic SMS, e-mail and data messages to the GINA smarptphone." says the author of the Záchranka app, Filip Maleňák.

Thus, the Water Rescue Service will be able to initiate an intervention and prepare the patient for a medical rescue service that is already on the way. "This type of information transmission has proven to be very effective in case of the Mountain Service, of 50 calls a day, roughly 10 of them are also related to mountain areas and mountain services. We hope that the information about callers from the application, especially its location data, will be equally beneficial for water rescue," adds Maleňák.

Numbers of interventions of the Water Rescue Service shows that the application could help in up to 800 cases a year. Last year, a water rescuer went to 619 medical and 87 technical interventions. This year's numbers will be even higher. In the middle of the season, more than 400 cases were provided by WRS. "Types of interventions are very diverse, ranging from injuries and illnesses to very serious conditions such as allergic reactions, sudden collisions of circulation, tingling ... Technical interference involves the search of drowning, removal of damaged or non-functioning vessels, rescue of persons from the water in case of sudden weather change, and so on. In all of these cases, GPS position and emergency call information would be very useful." said David Smejkal, President of the Water Rescue Service.

New functionality will be available to more than 680,000 users since August 2018, without any application update. During the holidays, everything will run in the pilot mode, but the emergency messages will already be on the Water Rescue Service stations by default. At present, 16 water areas will be connected, the safety of which is supervised by the Water Rescue Service. These are Novomlýnská reservoir - Pavlov, Novomlýnská reservoir - Pasohlávky, Lipno - Dolní Vltavice and Modřín, Slapy, Orlík, Hracholusky, Dalešice, Těrlická přehrada, Rozkoš, Nechranice, Slezská Harta, Pastviny, Seč, Hlučín and Mšeno.

The Záchranka app is free for both users and rescuers. The entire project is nonprofit and is now supported by private entities. The Vodafone Foundation is the general partner of Záchranka app, and the system is also supported by Česká pojišťovna for a long time.

"Záchranka app for the Vodafone Foundation is the use of 21st century technology to save something as vital as human life. At the back of one button, there is a complex automated process of identifying regions and areas of activity of Public Security Forces, so that assistance is always called as efficiently and quickly as possible. This is why we have been the general partner of the Záchranka app for the third year. We know that thanks to the finances we provide for the project, the application system is constantly being improved. And that makes a lot of sense to us," says Adrian Dergam, vice president of the Vodafone Foundation's Board of Trustees.

Thanks to the success of the Rescue in the Czech Republic and Austria, negotiations on a deeper cooperation with the Ministry of Health have also been established. "Záchranka app is a great example of an originally small student project that greatly enriches and streamlines Czech healthcare. That is why the Ministry of Health decided to support the application and we are currently working not only on the more detailed system implementation, but also on the further development of this functioning system," adds Martina Novotná, Director of the Department of Health Services of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic.

Now, everyone will be able to contribute for the work and extensions of the Záchranka app anytime - whether the people who were saved by the app or those who found their affection in the project and would like to support it. You can find what functionalities can be contributed and how on the website www.zachrankaapp.cz/help.

"Every additional minute we have during saving the pacient is crucial for the survival and quality of his next life. Therefore, we are delighted to welcome any further enhancements to the Záchranka app, which has long been a great help for the Health Emergency Service. Rescue missions on water surfaces are very specific to us and, as in the forest terrain, it is often difficult to locate the caller. Accurate positioning and activation of the Water Rescue Service will be a huge bonus for patients." Daniel Bartošek, Operation supervisor, South Moravian Emergency Health Service

"Our mission is to save and protect lives by using modern technologies. We have been cooperating with Water Rescue Service for over a year and together we have succeeded in implementing GINA technology into day-to-day operation of the organization. By working with Záchranka app, we are now pushing our system to the next level to speed up the time for rescuers to reach the scene and provide effective help." Vít Olšák, Marketing Director, GINA Software.

*** After pressing the emergency button, Záchranka app will transfer data from the caller's phone directly to the Emergency Services dispatching center of the Czech Republic, which is closest to the accident. In addition to the GPS location, patient's health data, battery status, contacts of patient's relatives, and other information the user has filled out in the phone are sent. If the person is in the mountains in the emergency, the application will recognize it, and in addition to the Emergency, the Mountain Service of the Czech Republic, which is in charge of the area, is contacted with the same information. Záchranka app now recognizes 16 water areas and their surroundings, where the Water Rescue Service operates. The app determines which part of the emergency system is most suitable fort the intervention and distributes the caller's data to them. All rescue units, which at the same time can cooperate to rescue the patient, receive important information at the same time and can get to the caller more quickly and efficiently. ***